Lockable disc storage container for information storage media

ABSTRACT

A storage container having a cover and a disc base is disclosed. The storage container is used for storing information storage media. The cover of the storage container has a locking element used to wrappedly engage a locking mechanism positioned on the disc base. When the locking mechanism is engaged in the locking element, the storage container is securely locked. In order to separate the cover and the disc base, the connecting part has to be broken. Accordingly, the storage container is lockable and prevents the information storage media disposed therein from being stolen.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is related to a disc storage container for storinginformation storage media, and particularly, to a lockable disc storagecontainer for storing information storage media in disc format.

2. Description of the Prior Art

A disc storage container is a container for storing information storagemedia. The disc storage container has the space for storing variousnumbers of discs for storage for customers' purchase convenience. A lotof discs are stored inside the disc storage container for selling on themarket.

Please refer to FIG. 1, which shows a conventional disc storagecontainer 10. The conventional disc storage container 10 has a base 12and a cover 14. The base 12 is a disc-shaped object for holding thediscs. A cylindrical shaft 16 is at the center of the disc base 12, andis to extend inside the cover 14. The cylindrical shaft 16 is highenough to be inserted through a center hole of discs for holdingquantities of discs on the base 12. The cover 14 is hollow in the centerwhich is capable of holding specific quantities of discs, and has anopening at the bottom thereof. The cover 14 includes a plurality oflocking projections 18 formed at the bottom of the cover 14. The lockingprojections 18 are to be engaged with a plurality of locking grooves 19disposed at the edge of the base 12. After the cover 14 is placed overand on the base 12, the cover 14 is fastened to the base 12 by means ofrotating the cover 14 on the base 12 that shifts and engages the lockingprojections 18 into the corresponding locking grooves 19.

However, when the disc storage container 10 and the discs stored thereinare kept in stores as when sold in the market, the base 12 and the cover14 can be separated apart easily by means of rotating the cover andshifting to disengage the locking projections 18 out of the lockinggrooves 19, because the cover 14 is only fastened by simply insertingthe locking projections 18 into the locking grooves 19. This is whythose information storage media inside the disc storage container 10 maybe easily taken out. The conventional disc storage container 10 cannotprevent information storage media displayed therein from being stolen.Some merchants wrapped over the disc storage container 10 with a plasticfilm 21, but the plastic film 21 can be torn off easily. For thisreason, the present invention provides a lockable disc storage containerto replace conventional disc storage containers, and to overcome thedrawbacks thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basicunderstanding of one or more aspects of the invention. This summary isnot an extensive overview of the invention, and is neither intended toidentify key or critical elements of the invention, nor to delineate thescope thereof. Rather, the primary purpose of the summary is to presentsome concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to themore detailed description that is presented later.

It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a discstorage container, and particularly, to provide a lockable disc storagecontainer that overcomes drawbacks of the conventional disc storagecontainer.

According to the present invention, a lockable disc storage containerfor information storage media in disc format is provided. The lockabledisc storage container has a disc base for holding information storagemedia, and a cover which is configured to engage with and fitted overthe disc base. The disc base includes at least a coupling groovedisposed at the edge of the disc base, a cylindrical shaft positioned atthe center of the disc base, and a locking mechanism disposed at the topof the cylindrical shaft. The cover of the lockable disc storagecontainer has at least a coupling projection corresponding to thecoupling groove at the edge of the disc base, and a locking elementdisposed at the center of a top surface of the cover to wrappedly engagewith the locking mechanism disposed at the top of the cylindrical shaft.

Accordingly, the lockable disc storage container of the presentinvention is locked when the locking mechanism of the disc base issecurely wrapped by the locking element of the cover. Subsequently, thelocking mechanism has to be broken, and then the cover and the disc basecan be separated apart. As a result, the lockable disc storage containerof the present invention is capable of preventing accidentally opening,and also preventing information storage media from being stolen.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt becomeobvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment that isillustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a conventional disc storage container.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are schematic diagrams illustrating a lockable discstorage container including a disc base and a cover according to apreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 to FIG. 6 are schematic diagrams illustrating the mechanisms andmethod to lock the cover to the disc base and the mechanisms and methodto separate apart the locked cover from the disc base.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichcomponents with substantially the same functions are identified by thesame reference numeral for the sake of simplicity. It should be noted,however, that the present invention is in no way limited to thefollowing illustrative embodiments.

Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, which are schematic diagramsillustrating a lockable disc storage container which includes a discbase 22 (shown in FIG. 2) and a cover 24 (shown in FIG. 3) according toa preferred embodiment of the present invention. The disc base 22 ismade of a plastic material for holding a variety of information storagemedia in disc formats, such as CDs, VCDs, or DVDs. The shape of the discbase 22 may be customized, and is not limited to the disc-shaped discbase 22 as shown in FIG. 2. A circular collar 25 is disposed close tothe edge of the disc base 22. The collar 25 may be in continuouscircular form as shown in FIG. 2 or to be composed of a plurality ofdiscontinuous portions disposed around the edge of the disc base 22 (notshown). The disc base 22 includes three coupling projections 261, 262,263 separately disposed around the edge of the disc base 22, as shown inFIG. 2. The disc base 22 has a cylindrical shaft 28, which is formedwith the disc base 22, installed at the center of the disc base 22, andis to be positioned inside the cover 24. The cylindrical shaft 28 is tobe inserted through a center hole of information storage media. Thelength of the cylindrical shaft 28 may be varied depending on the numberof information storage media to be packed, or the height of the cover 24of the disc storage container. A locking mechanism 30 is positioned atthe top of the cylindrical shaft 28 of the present invention. Thelocking mechanism 30 includes a bolt 32 and at least a breakableconnecting part for break-off. For instance, the bolt 32 is connected tothe top of the cylindrical shaft 28 by a plurality of break-offconnecting parts 341, 342. In addition, the bolt 32 is has asemicircular shape when viewed from the top.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cover 24 of the disc storage container is madeof a plastic material. The cover 24 is in a cylindrical-shape and ishollow in the center, and has an opening at the bottom; the insideportion of the cover 24 comprise of space capable of containing aparticular quantity of information storage media. The height of thecover 24 is matched with the length of the cylindrical shaft 28, inwhich the length of the cylindrical shaft 28 may be varied dependingupon the number of information storage media intended to be packed. Atleast a coupling projection is formed along the outer wall at the bottomof the cover 24 adjacent to the opening of the cover 24. For example,three coupling projections 361, 362, 363 are disposed on the outer wallof the cover 24; the coupling projections 361, 362, 363 are correspondedto the coupling grooves 261, 262, 263 formed on the disc base 22respectively, as shown in FIG. 3. However, the number of the couplingprojection(s) and of the coupling groove(s) may not be limited to thoseshown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, and may be adjusted depending uponrequirements. The cover 24 has a locking element 38, which is to beengaged with the locking mechanism 30 at the top of the cylindricalshaft 28, located at the center of the cover 24. The locking element 38includes an abutting projection 39 which is of an integrated design withthe cover 24, and comprising a concave trough-shape in contrast with thetop surface of the cover 24. As shown in FIG. 3, the abutting projection39 of the present embodiment is in a shape of a quarter-circle block.However, the shape of the abutting projection 39 is not limited to it.The size and the shape may be modified, and may be matched with the bolt32 of the disc base 22.

Please refer to FIG. 4 to FIG. 6, which are schematic diagrams showingthe mechanisms and method for locking the cover 24 to the disc base 22,and the mechanisms and method for separating apart the cover 24 from thedisc base 22 when locked. FIG. 5 a and FIG. 6 a are top view schematicdiagrams of the disc storage container 20; and FIG. 5 b and FIG. 6 b arelateral view schematic diagrams of the disc storage container 20. Asshown in FIG. 4, when the cover 24 is capped on and fitted onto the discbase 22, the inner sidewall of the cover 24 at the bottom at the openingis positioned around the outside of the circular collar 25, and thelocking mechanism 30 of the disc base 22 is fittedly inserted into thelocking element 38 of the cover 24. The locking element 38 includes alocking head 40 and a locking neck 42. The size of the locking head 40is fit with the bolt 32 of the locking mechanism 30. In order tofacilitate the locking element 38 engage in the locking mechanism 30, ashape of the neck 42 thereby also matches with the shape of the bolt 32.After the disc base 22 is covered and fitted by the disc cover 24, thedisc storage container 20 is locked by pushing the cover 24 into thedisc base 22 with a proper force, as shown in FIG. 5 b. The bolt 32positioned at the top of the cylindrical shaft 28 slides along the innerwall of the neck 42 of the locking element 38 into the locking head 40of the cover 24. The bottom of the bolt 32 is snugly abutted to thebottom's inner side of the locking head 40, and the bolt 32 is firmlystuck inside the locking head 40. Therefore, the cover 24 and the discbase 22 cannot be separated apart easily. Referring to FIG. 5 a, theabutting projection 39 of the locking head 40 is inserted into anoccupying space between the semicircular-shaped bolt 32 and the lockinghead 40. Since the quarter-circle block abutting projection 39 ispositioned in the occupying space between the semicircular-shaped bolt32 and the locking head 40, the abutting projection 39 is able to rotatewithin the occupying space (occupying a half-circle). For tighteningtogether the cover 24 and the disc base 22, the cover 24 or the discbase 22 may be rotated; for example, the cover 24 of the presentpreferred embodiment is rotated in a clockwise direction for insertingthe coupling projections 361, 362, 363 into the coupling grooves 261,262, 263, while the disc base 22 is in a fixed position as shown in FIG.5 a and FIG. 5 b. Therefore, the cover 24 and the disc base 22 arefirmly locked, and the joint strength between the cover 24 and the discbase 22 is strengthened.

Please refer to FIG. 6 a and FIG. 6 b. When taking out the informationstorage media (not shown) stored in the disc storage container 20, thecover 22 may be separated from the cover 24 by rotating the cover 24 ina counterclockwise direction. The coupling projections 361, 362, 363 areslid out of the coupling grooves 261, 262, 263. At the same time, theabutting projection 39 of the cover 24 is abutted against the bolt 32and using the rotating force to push against the bolt 32 for twistingthe connecting parts 341, 342 to break off the connecting parts 341, 342between the cylindrical shaft 28 and the locking head 40. Consequently,the connecting parts 341, 342 are broken off for separating the bolt 32from the cylindrical shaft 28. Therefore, the separated bolt 32 is leftin the locking head 40 of the cover 24.

The disc storage container 20 of the present invention utilizes thelocking element 38 of the cover to wrappedly engage with the lockingmechanism 30 of the disc base 22. The bolt 32 of the locking mechanism30 is firmly stuck in the locking head 40 for the purpose of locking thecover 24 and the disc base 22. Those with intention to take out theinformation storage media from inside the disc storage container 20 mustrotate the cover 24 or the disc base 22 to twist and break off theconnecting parts 341 and 342 for separating the cover 24 from the discbase 22. In addition, the destroying of the assembling of the cover 24and the disc base 22 is irreversible. The destroying of the cover 24 andthe disc base 22 may notify purchaser that the disc storage container 20has been opened. It is impossible to take out the information storagemedia inside the disc storage container 20 without damaging ordestroying the locked cover 24 and the disc base 22. Consequently, thedisc storage container 20 of the present invention is capable ofpreventing being stolen.

According to aforementioned preferred embodiment, the quarter-circleblock abutting projection is engaged and matched with thesemicircle-shaped bolt. However, the shape of the bolt and the abuttingprojection may not be limited to the above-mentioned preferredembodiment. The size or the shape of the abutting projection may bemodified as long as the abutting projection has a proper contact surfacebetween the abutting projection and the bolt for pushing the bolt androtating the cover to break the contacting parts between the bolt andthe cylindrical shaft. In addition, the quantity and the size of thecoupling projection(s), the coupling groove(s), or the break-offconnecting part(s) may be modified depending upon requirements, but arenot limited to those shown in above-mentioned preferred embodiment.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerousmodifications and alterations of the device and method may be made whileretaining the teachings of the invention.

1. A lockable disc storage container for storing information storagemedia, comprising: a disc base comprising: at least a coupling groovedisposed at the edge of the disc base; a cylindrical shaft positioned atthe center of the disc base; and a locking mechanism disposed at the topof the cylindrical shaft; and a cover configured to engage with andfitted over the disc base, and the cover comprising: at least a couplingprojection corresponding to the coupling groove at the edge of the discbase; and a locking element disposed at the center of a top surface ofthe cover to wrappedly engage the locking mechanism disposed at the topof the cylindrical shaft.
 2. The lockable disc storage container ofclaim 1, wherein the locking mechanism includes at least a break-offconnecting part connected to the cylindrical shaft.
 3. The lockable discstorage container of claim 1, wherein the locking element comprises alocking head and a neck; and the locking mechanism comprising a bolt tobe abutted against the locking head.
 4. The lockable disc storagecontainer of claim 3, wherein the locking element comprising an abuttingprojection comprising a concave trough-shape in contrast with the topsurface of the cover, and the abutting projection is inserted into anoccupying space between the bolt and the locking element while thelocking element is wrappedly engaging the locking mechanism.
 5. Alockable storage container for storing information storage media,comprising: a disc base comprising: at least a coupling groove disposedat the edge of the disc base; a cylindrical shaft positioned at thecenter of the disc base; a bolt disposed at the top of the cylindricalshaft; and at least a break-off connecting part connecting the bolt tothe cylindrical shaft; and a cover configured to engage with the discbase, and the cover comprising: at least a coupling projectioncorresponding to the coupling groove at the edge of the disc base; and alocking element disposed at the center of a top surface of the cover towrappedly engage the bolt disposed at the top of the cylindrical shaft;the locking element comprising an abutting projection capable ofinserting into an occupying space between the bolt and the lockingelement, and the abutting projection is able to rotate within theoccupying space.
 6. The lockable disc storage container of claim 5,wherein the locking element comprising a locking head and a neck, andthe bolt is abutted against the locking head while the locking elementis wrappedly engaging the bolt.
 7. The lockable disc storage containerof claim 6, wherein the cover is separated from the disc base byrotating the cover along a circumference of the disc base in either aclockwise or a counterclockwise direction after the locking element iswrappedly engaged with the bolt, and allowing the abutting projectionpushing the bolt to break the break-off connecting part.
 8. The lockabledisc storage container of claim 7, wherein the bolt is left inside thelocking head after the break-off connecting part is broken off.